“After signing the renewal, it was the only way to make everyone understand that we were the masters of the player’s future. We recovered our dignity and the bargaining power of a player that all the clubs by then saw as sold.

“He wanted to leave, he was lost. Although he was out of contract we said he was not for sale so as to raise the price, but it did not do much.

“ I tried to regain the confidence of Astori so as to have the bargaining power. When we were successful, with the signature on the contract, I needed to let everyone know that the player had not been sold.

“And particularly in this way we wanted all the clubs in for Astori know that they had to deal with Cagliari. We wanted to make it clear to fans that we again had the negotiating power and dignity.

“I should have said he was renewing to be sold, but I would have lost strength in negotiations. However, I want to apologise to the fans if what has come across has been a farce.

“I am a Sardinian, I have not slept for 20 days so as to do the best job. In August, Cagliari will present a full squad.”